|
|
|
| NEWS > 21 July 2006 |
Other related articles:
Malawi police raid judge's hom
Malawian police and anti-graft agents have raided the house of a High Court judge hours after he ruled against the government in a row over the budget.
Joseph Mwanyungwe issued an injunction allowing the opposition-dominated parliament to continue stalling a debate on the budget suspended in July.
Opposition MPs are refusing to discuss it unless MPs who switched to the president's party are expelled.
Correspondents say the legal battle could topple the government.
Hundreds of students have been protesting outside parliament demanding that the budget is... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
Stuff.co.nz - Wellington,New Z
21 July 2006
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
DISGRACED: former police offic
|
Police officer's check on love
A former police officer who falsified documents so he could check whether his partner was cheating on him has escaped a jail sentence.
Peter James McCutcheon was sentenced in the Greymouth District Court yesterday to 300 hours community service.
McCutcheon, 44, last month admitted two charges of making a false statement, one of making a false statement under oath and two of falsely using information request forms to obtain a service.
He wanted to check the cellphone records of his partner, also a police officer, whom he suspected was having an affair when she was out of the region in the middle of last year.
McCutcheon resigned from the police about two months ago.
Leaving the Greymouth District Court yesterday, his 14-year police career over, he said he had no idea what his future held.
Defence counsel Steve Hembrow told the judge it was tragic that McCutcheon found himself in court.
"By all accounts he was very good at it (policing). He was held in high regard as a country cop – a dying breed," Hembrow said.
However, Hembrow's position allowed him to obtain records of the phones his partner was using. One of the phones was his own, and he could have accessed the records legally.
When McCutcheon thought his partner was having an affair he became distressed, Hembrow said.
"While filling out a search affidavit for a legitimate matter, it dawned on him that he could confirm his suspicions or put his mind at rest by adding her number to the search warrant and getting the records off Telecom and Vodafone. That's the biggest mistake of his life," Hembrow said.
He later admitted to his partner that he had monitored her calls. They were still together.
"He is still at a loss to explain how his judgment got so wildly out of sync ... It is clearly evident he is not a person you or any court will see again," Hembrow told the judge.
McCutcheon had no financial gain or career advancement and did not intend "fitting someone up".
"He just wanted to know who his partner had been talking to on the phone," Hembrow said.
Prison as a deterrent was not appropriate because the circumstances were unique, he said.
Judge Brian Callaghan said McCutcheon's previous good record and early admission of guilt did not warrant prison but instead 300 hours community work.
The judge said he accepted the circumstances were unique, but the worst aspect was the terrible breach of trust McCutcheon, as a sworn officer, had demonstrated by duping others.
McCutcheon's turmoil could not excuse his conduct, but could, for most people, explain why he acted as he did, the judge said. McCutcheon was no danger.
West Coast Inspector Vern Morris said outside the court that the sentence was appropriate.
|
| |
 EiP Comments:
|
|---|
|
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
